Greyhound bus service is returning to St. Paul

After an absence of nearly two years, Greyhound is returning to St. Paul.

Officials announced that starting Tuesday, the intercity bus service will begin picking up passengers and dropping them off at Union Depot in downtown St. Paul.

Stephen Hutchings, regional vice president for Greyhound, said in a statement that the high demand for bus service last year in Minneapolis — Greyhound’s only current Twin Cities stop — made the addition of St. Paul service “a natural move.”

Now Greyhound passengers will be able to leave and arrive in St. Paul as well as Minneapolis. Ticketing and package services will be provided through Jefferson Lines, which has an office at Union Depot and has provided service there since January 2013.

Jefferson has a daily schedule of 18 arrivals and departures from regional centers. Greyhound, which crosses the continent, will add eight daily arrivals and departures, including two premium Express schedules.

Metro Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority and Megabus also provide bus service at Union Depot. Amtrak is expected to move its Twin Cities terminal there later this spring, and Green Line light-rail trains will stop outside the depot starting in June.

Union Depot had hoped to land Greyhound as a tenant before the bus company ended its St. Paul service in May 2012 and closed its station at University Avenue and Rice Street. Company officials attributed that decision to expansion of the Express service, which operates with fewer stops.

The news comes as intercity bus riding is experiencing an upswing. A recent report from DePaul University shows that buses are the fastest growing mode of city-to-city transportation in the United States.